The invention relates to a multiprocessor system including a docking system.
As portable computers have become increasingly powerful, many users are now using portable computers as replacements for desktop computer systems as they provide greater flexibility to the user. In the office or other location, portable computers may be docked to docking bases for access to additional capabilities and resources. Example devices that may be coupled to the docking base include a network, printers, mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD) drives, and other types of devices.
When a portable computer is docked to a docking base, computing power is typically provided by a central processing unit (CPU) in the portable computer. An example configuration of a portable computer may be one that includes a system bus, an expansion bus, and bridges to couple the buses to each other, to the CPU, and to peripheral or input/output (I/O) devices. An example configuration of a docking base may include a system bus or an expansion bus (or both) that couples to a bus in the portable computer when docked.
Although portable computers have rapidly become more powerful, they still lag the performance of the typical desktop system due to several constraints, including power consumption limitations (to extend battery life) and thermal dissipation limitations. For example, storage capacity and peripheral capability are limited as are the CPU""s core voltage level and core clock frequency to conserve power and to reduce heat generation.
Thus, a need arises for a docking system that is able to provide increased computing capability.
In general, according to one embodiment, a system includes a docking base and a computing device dockable to the docking base. The number of processors in the system once the computing device is docked to the docking base is identified. The system is configured as a multiprocessor system if more than one processor is identified.
Other features will become apparent from the following description and from the claims.